So We Meet Again
by whenwunderwolferkicksin
Summary: Shiznat tale of love and survival. AUxOOC. Collab fic of wunderwolfer and WhenAnxietyKicksIn.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I only own a piece of Dunkin Donut and I just ate it so I don't own anything as of the moment. I'll let you know if I buy another DD :p_  
_

Hello, this is the same c1 of SWMA posted in my main account. So if you're an old reader/follower then you've already read this. I know, I know it's been ages...that's why I'm so overjoyed when my friend _wunderwolfer_ agreed to continue this story with me.

Anyway, old reader or not, please kindly support this fic. It would mean a dozen pieces of choco muffin to me if you R&R. (That's saying something 'cos I absolutely love choco muffins haha)

Enjoy!

* * *

**So We Meet Again**

* * *

_This is a story when a woman meets a woman._

_No, not the kind wherein they meet for the first time and they fell in love straight away._

_Ugh._

_No, not that cheesy._

_It's something more realistic._

_Something like this..._

...

..

.

It was the 21st of January when Clark Cruise Enterprise headed its way towards the vast ocean. Its destination—Greece, the land of the gods people would say. It is the paradise and dream land for many, but for one Shizuru Fujino, it's the place where she'll meet her fiancé, Reito Kanzaki.

The Fujino and Kanzaki family are both filthy rich and influential in the trading industry. No one who makes a fortune out of the sea, air and/or land could have possibly miss the news that two lovely heirs of these great empires will wed in the city of the gods very soon.

Of course, more than a dozen blokes and lasses' hearts were broken because of this news for the couple are not only filthy rich and influential; they are also damn well charming and beautiful people. And who wouldn't weep when they found out that they couldn't possibly get a hand of those deep pockets or heavenly bodies, once the two tied the knot in March.

When the twenty-five-year-old heiress inquired her fiancé why do they have to go separate ways going to Greece when they could afford a private jet, his handsome soon-to-be other half earnestly replied, "Because my beautiful darling, I am off to Greece ahead of you to personally prepare some surprises for our wedding. You should enjoy this trip and before you know it, you'll be in my arms once again and we'll never be apart ever."

Reito knew how much Shizuru hates the word surprise or anything related to it, so in hushed tones he supplied, "I know how much you hate surprises, but I assure you...You will L-O-V-E this one."

With hesitation, Shizuru was forced to believe in her future husband and so with a dozen luggages under her name, she stepped on the most expensive cruise ship on Earth.

* * *

Not too far away from the glamorous entrance of the cruise, is a bee-line for workers and low-class passengers who can get in the cruise for more than half what the esteemed guests paid for. One of the applying workers is a tomboyish lass named Natsuki Kuga.

"So what can you do, champ?" A man fitted with a crappy vest asked a dark-haired woman suited in an equally crappy vest. She wanted to remove it but thought otherwise as it may send the wrong message to her possible employer.

"I can do all sorts, man. But mainly, I'm a mechanic." She said confidently. Natsuki was not lying for she was under tutelage of a crippled old man who used to be a great mechanic during World War II, or so the man said to Natsuki.

"Is that really?" A doubtful reply was said as the bulky man kept on chewing his cheap gum for roughly two hours.

"Yes, sir."

He eyed the woman one more time and saw muscles covered in those overalls and thought that maybe she was telling the truth. Then he decided that he could get laid if she cannot do what she preached so he said, "Alright then. Sign on this form and this one as well."

After several papers were properly done, he waved his hand and another man came through from the shadows. The recruiter whispered to the newly arrived man, and the latter ushered Natsuki away from the bee-line and onto a deserted hallway.

"Okay, get your bags and you're coming with me."

Natsuki followed him with heightened alert. Who knows where could he possibly be leading her into? But not a minute later, they've reached onto a wooden door which led to a somewhat sturdy looking ladder. Natsuki thought that maybe it will lead to the backdoor of the cruise or something. What she saw next was a warehouse filled with merchandises, barrels, boxes, and all sorts of items.

The man grunted without looking at her, "You can look but you cannot touch."

Of course, Natsuki thought of actually touching them at some point, but now that she was commanded not to...she wants to touch it even more.

'_How stupid can they be? If a child was asked by his parents not to play with fire, what do you think he'd do? It's a no brainer. He'd definitely play with it the second he got the chance to. Bah! No brainer these fools are. 'Course I'm not that kind of juvenile to do more than just touching. I'm here to work, and not to get in jail.'_

"Here you go." The man jerked his thumb towards a large cabin with several wooden double-deck beds. "This will be your room for a month or so with some recruits. You'll be informed of your work schedule once everything else is situated. Find yourself a bed, sleep early, and tomorrow be sure to get off your ass early morn'. Got it?"

A nod was Natsuki's only reply. Then she found the most secluded part of the cabin and dumped her body off to sleep.

* * *

"Madam, is everything to your liking?" A man too charming for a courier asked the heiress. Not that anyone could blame him. He's only doing what he was tasked to do—_please Shizuru Fujino or else you'll find yourself afloat in the morning._

"Yes, it is. I will call upon you when I need something else." She said as she continues to survey the lavishly decorated room.

"Much obliged, Madam."

Shizuru let the man close the door, and she instinctively locked it before producing a much needed yawn. She was exhausted from all the fuss her parents, relatives, friends and even helpers have made when she was on her way to the port.

'_They made it sound that I'm not going back for good. All those endless cries and goodbyes were draining! I don't need their good lucks and take cares as I know I'm going to be safe in this trip. What could possibly go wrong?'_

The suite she's staying in has a master bedroom, a living room with a balcony, and a large bathroom with marble bath tub. It is the most sought after room in the cruise and the owner of the ship didn't hesitate to give it to Shizuru once he heard that she'll aboard his ship. He made sure that all are according to the heiress' liking.

"Yes, this is exactly what I need." Shizuru divested her expensive clothing and she stepped onto a ready-made tea bubble bath.

* * *

A little more than eight hours have passed since they've departed the port; the moon was already positioned high in the sky accompanied by several stars, when a startling cry from the watch tower was heard.

"Cap! I think we have a problem!" The sailor shrieked like a little girl, but nobody heard this except for the Captain of the cruise, because everyone was already asleep.

"What do you mean problem, Tom? It's past midnight and I have no time to hear one of your lame jokes." A grumpy reply by the five-star Captain.

Before he could explain, a blinker notifying an incoming radio transmission from below deck trespassed the room.

"Hold on," he sternly commanded his panicky staff before lifting the radio receiver. "What? Don't tell me you also have a disaster to report?" He snarled on the radio.

"Ah...Actually Captain, there's a tiny bit of a problem in here." Was the nervous reply.

By this time, the Captain already crushed his favorite cigar and demanded the two to explain the situation. After learning of the situation, he turned on the evacuation alarm switch.

* * *

Alarm began blaring around the cruise. Women, men, children were awaken by the siren. Everyone was roused from their sleep and asked to board the escape boats calmly.

"Where are you taking us?"

"What on Earth has happened?"

"Do you know who I am?"

Was the collective questions of the angry personalities coming from different prestigious families.

"Sir, we have come into knowledge that a storm is headed in our direction—"

"Then go to another direction!" A robust man in his robe exclaimed.

The steward tried to explain, "Sir, there's a difficulty in the cruise's engine and it seems we cannot evade the storm as of the moment."

There were a dozen of gasps and oh-no's in the background.

"As of the moment you say?" The same robust gent inquired with controlled anger. "Let me tell you, kid, that as of the moment you and your boss' ass are safe. After we land safely, which you should better hope we do, the next thing you'll worry about is not a storm but a god damn lawsuit! You hear me? You'll eat trash for the rest of your days!"

"Dad, calm down!"

"Sir—"

"Don't go near me!" The man said infuriatingly, then suddenly he clutched on his heart and fell on the ground, clearly in pain.

"Dad!"

"Sir!"

Then there's chaos.

* * *

"Everyone get up! Pack only your necessary belongings, nothing too big or too heavy and let's go. We're leaving the ship in five and don't ask any questions."

Natsuki was awaken by this sentence. By the time she was fully awake, more than half of cabins' occupants have already fled to the exits. Sensing the gravity of the situation, she quickly gathered her few important stuff—mostly her tools—and ran to the nearest exits. She was blocked by the bodies of other dozens passengers who wish to get out.

Panic is all over the cruise. And Natsuki, not knowing what exactly had happened felt fear more than panic, but she tried to dismiss it as she's determined in finding an exit. She went in another way and luckily she found an exit wherein she saw an escape boat, clearly ready for departure. She hopped onto the vessel then she released a sigh of relief. She turned around and saw that the passengers were looking at her like she's a disease.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

A man beside her coughed in an obvious manner and in whisper he explained, "Mam, this boat cannot handle one more passenger."

Dawning what the man and the rest of the passengers were asking of her, she exploded, "What the fuck! Are you all kidding me? Are you saying I should get off the boat?"

The silence answered Natsuki.

"Fucking wankers...life...and all of you!" She shouted with venom.

"Mom! She's cursing!" A scared little girl cried in her mother's bosom.

Natsuki felt guilty then she thought of her situation. She looked back at the cruise and saw that every escape boats were already packed with passengers and away from the exit she came from. Meaning, this boat which she is currently in, whose passengers are asking her to leave, is the only one left for her to escape with.

"Then at least tell me why we're evacuating the damn ship!" The girl cried further so she said, "I meant, THE SHIP!"

"Miss, there's a storm coming and the sailors said the ship cannot avoid it on time as something went wrong with the engine." A guilty man narrated in detail.

"Then why not fix it?" She tried again.

"Because—"

"Then why don't you fix it? You're a mechanic from the below deck, am I right?" A pompous middle-aged woman pointed at Natsuki's various tools, which are safely tucked in her belt.

The others chimed, "Yeah! Go on! Do your job! You didn't even pay for this cruise. Go!"

Knowing it's a lost cause, Natsuki didn't have a choice but to stepped off the boat and uttered the plain truth, "I cannot believe that there are people like you who'd ask a person to sacrifice themselves to save your fancy butts. Shameless pigs!"

* * *

"Madam!"

"Madam!"

The courier of Shizuru earlier knocked on her suite for about a minute and still he didn't receive nor hear any sort of reply. A superior of his came to his side and brutally smacked his head.

"What the hell are you waiting for? Use your damn keys!"

"But, sir! She's Shizuru Fujino, it's inappropriate to—"

He received another smack on his head, "What the hell are you blabbing about? We're in an emergency! We need to get her out of there, whether she's sleeping, undressed or what not!"

The courier's face changed its color into red when he heard the word 'undressed', his superior who does not fancy ladies since birth, gave him a glare. "Oi, do your job! Open the damn door and save the lady! Or have you forgotten what the boss told you to do?"

'_Please Shizuru Fujino or else you'll find yourself afloat in the morning.'_Is what he said, does it include keeping her safe?_'_

"Oi! Stop thinking and I said, do your job! We're leaving in two minutes and if you're not with the lady Fujino in the allotted time, then don't bother coming. Do yourself a favor and jump onto the ocean." His superior left before he could manage to make a protest.

With haste, he opened the door without knocking and quickly looked around the room. He noticed that the room in the bathroom is locked with orchestra music blaring in the background.

'_Maybe that's why she didn't hear the ruckus outside.'_

"Madam!" He yelled. "I'm coming in ten seconds, please cover yourself!" He wished she wouldn't, but either way he needs to get her out or he's dead.

After ten seconds elapsed, he took his bundle of keys and looked for the correct key that will open the bathroom. Unfortunately, he forgot that he lent his key to the woman who prepared the bubble bath for the lady.

"Shit!" He muttered under his breath. "Come on now! Madam! Please open the door. We need to evacuate the ship immediately!"

Then he heard an engine started in a distance, he ran to the balcony and saw that the last escape boat his superior mentioned is already preparing to leave.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" He shouted as he jumped from the balcony and into the water—either in the hopes of catching up to the boat or doing what he was told to do if he cannot save the heiress.

As the poor courier flails his extremities in the water for survival, his charge, Shizuru Fujino, is still sound asleep in her favorite bubble bath.

Yes, correct.

The tea one.


	2. Chapter 2

Howdy Folks

As you know this is a collaborative Fanfic between Whenanxietykicksin and myself (wunderwolfer); we're taking it in turns to write a chapter WAKI wrote the first chapter and I've written this one.

I'm a big Fan of WAKI's writing (don't tell her she'll use it against me) and I really enjoyed reading SWMA on her page all those months ago, so it feels a bit strange to be writing a chapter for a story I was following but I'm also super excited about writing with her and writing my first Shiznat. She also forced me to do it...HAHAHA she's gonna kill me, I can only be nice for one sentence HAHAHA.

Anyway here's my first chapter I hope you like it and it lives up to the first. Oh and please R&R, we both love feedback.

Disclaimer: I own nut'in, not even a doughnut.

WW

* * *

Shizuru woke up shivering. "Ugh...cold, cold, cold," she chanted as she launched out of the freezing bath and immediately wrapped herself in one of cabin's warm, thick towels.

'How long had she been asleep and why hadn't anyone woke her?' she wondered idly as she finished drying herself and wrapped herself in one of the silk robes. Turning off the bathroom stereo she wandered through into the bedroom. She paused; her instincts told her something was very wrong. She looked around her bedroom: her luggage was still there, the door was still locked from the inside and her engagement ring was still on the bedside table but she still felt like something was missing. She frowned not liking what her gut feeling was telling her.

Sound.

It was so quiet. Shouldn't she be able to hear the sound of the engines?

Curious she walked into the living room, unlocked the suite door and poked her head outside to look up and down the deck. How long had she been asleep? She wondered again. When she had entered the suite it had been light but now the entire ship appeared to be bathed in darkness, if it wasn't for the high moon and the light from the living room behind her she wouldn't have been able to see anything, not that there was anything to see the ship seemed completely empty. Still drowsy from her long sleep and slightly confused by the silence and darkness she forgot decency and stepped onto the deck in her short silk robe.

So quiet, so _eerily_ quiet.

She hadn't been on many cruises but she was sure that wasn't right.

"Hello," she called her voice raised slightly, barely noticeably to strangers but acquaintances of the calm heiress would have shocked to hear the slight inflexion in her typically cool melodic tone. She stepped further away from the suite wrapping her arms around herself. There was no one, not one person in sight. For a busy cruise ship it was inconceivable. She'd had nightmares like this (an unconscious visualization of her loneliness) which led her to think that perhaps she was dreaming. It had to be a dream it would certainly explain a lot of things: the deserted ship, the quiet, the darkness, and the cursing door that was running towards her, it would also explain why the door sounded so familiar.

* * *

"Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit," Natsuki chanted with increasing anxiety as she ran round the ship trying to find a ladder. Perhaps it had been a mistake to use an axe to remove the thin door she was carrying in front of her, the delay had cost her at least ten minutes, but if ship sinking disaster movies had taught her anything it was that if she was going to get into the sea she needed as many floatable objects to hang onto as possible, especially with her poor swimming capabilities. She had a thin door and a life jacket hung over one arm and they made her feel slightly better about getting into the sea in the middle of the night with an approaching storm and swimming more than a mile in a direction she hoped was land. It was possibly the craziest thing she had ever done but if she stayed on board with no one to navigate the ship she'd probably go down with it. So although it seemed like the actions of a lunatic her plans were reasoned and made with a sound mind, it would have been much easier task if she was insane because her clarity of mind meant that she was astutely aware of all potential dangers and consequences of her decision to take her chances in the sea and explained why she was sweating profusely, swearing anxiously and feeling so terrified that if she had more time before the hurricane reached her she'd probably be using it to vomit every single meal she'd eaten for the last year.

"Shit, shit, shit," she repeated as she sped around the deck peering over the ship's railings to search for the ladder. '_Fuck it,' _deciding to throw the door overboard and jump after it she raised the door over her head.

"Natsuki!" an astonished voice called behind her.

"WHAT!" she turned aggressively still holding the door above her head (she was always annoyed by people interrupting her when she was about to do something stupid).

"Shizuru!" she exclaimed in astonishment after immediately recognizing the woman in front of her.

Shizuru seemed as shocked as Natsuki and the two women stared at each other in silence. Despite the number of years that had passed since Natsuki had seen Shizuru, she can still easily recognize her. Same perfect skin, same long chestnut colored hair, same deep crimson eyes and even though she was wearing next to nothing, she still looked elegant and dignified—a tribute to her breeding and status and a reminder of why they had stopped being friends.

Shizuru recovered from the surprise reunion first as her shocked expression quickly changed to amusement. Natsuki followed Shizuru's eye line to the door above her head and Shizuru quietly giggled as she slowly placed it onto the deck a little more than irritated that even as an adult the Kyoto woman could still make her blush.

The appearance of her old friend had been sudden, almost mystical and had stunned the biker making her forget her current terrifying circumstances. But as she placed the door on the deck the life jacket slipped down her arm she remembered everything: the engine, the ship, the storm and now Shizuru. _'Just what the hell was Shizuru doing still on board? She's always doing stupid things.'_ They may not be friends anymore but that didn't mean she didn't care about her but expressing emotions, especially those of a caring nature, had always been difficult for the biker so she reverted to the one emotion she always felt comfortable expressing.

"Shizuru, what the fuck are you still doing here?" she snapped.

Shizuru's friendly smile faded into a frown. "I see that Natsuki-chan is still well-informed on etiquette and social graces," she said with a thin smile clasping her hands behind her back. "I know we didn't leave each other on the best of terms but we could at least be civil towards each other..."

Natsuki was dumbfounded by Shizuru's unruffled composure. "No, no, no," she reasoned aloud rubbing her forehead agitatedly, "even you are not reserved enough to be calm on a sinking ship."

"Excuse me, on a what?" Shizuru said quickly hoping she misheard the woman.

"Didn't you hear the alarms," Natsuki pointed towards one of the alarm speaker outside Shizuru's door. Her answer was pretty obvious as Shizuru stared at her blankly. "The ship's engines are not working and a storm is coming. Everyone has abandoned ship and they've taken all the lifeboats with them," she lamented pausing to let the gravity of their situation sink in.

Shizuru was confused. "Can't you just fix it?" She frowned glancing at Natsuki's tool belt.

"What is it with you people and ordering me to fix things, like it's the most reasonable solution to everything? Do you just walk through life completely oblivious to how the world works," she said sharply. "I can fix the engine," she explained slowly and acrimoniously as if speaking to a child, "but someone has to pilot the ship. Do you know how to navigate a cruise liner through a hurricane because the last captain sure didn't feel confident?"

Shizuru blinked a few times but stared vacantly at the mechanic. She certainly appeared to be taking the news of their dilemma better than Natsuki and the mechanic was astounded and a little impressed by the Kyoto woman's ability to be so relaxed. She didn't gasp, cry or even scream at the news of their imminent demise she just stepped closer to the biker and pinched the mechanic's arm.

Natsuki yelped in pain.

"You're real. I'm not dreaming," Shizuru responded evenly.

"Of course you're not dreaming and FYI you're supposed to pinch yourself not other people." She pouted looking at the red spot on her arm she couldn't believe how painful that was. "Ooooo that's gonna bruise…"

Shizuru couldn't hear Natsuki's complaints for she was in complete shock and although outwardly she remained composed, relying upon her cool facade that has taken years to perfect, inwardly she was reduced to a quivering terrified mess that was quickly losing control of all reason and rational thinking. Void of all thought except _'oh god I can't swim, oh god I can't swim...' _her strong instinct for self preservation kicked in and took control of the helm.

"Well Natsuki it seems I'm very fortunate that we met before you abandoned ship," she smiled sweetly as she stepped closer to the mechanic. "If you could just lend me your life jacket..." she said nonchalantly beginning to pull the jacket from the biker's arm.

"Hell no!" Natsuki yelled in shock just catching the jacket and tugging it back towards her she was no idiot and she was certainly no Jack, she had already given up her last chance of safety for a bunch of elitist snobs so there was no way she was giving up her chance for survival for another one. "It took me twenty minutes to find this jacket. I need it."

"I need it more. You'll be fine, you're…," Shizuru paused to look Natsuki up and down and try to think of an appropriate description of the mechanic. "…rugged and you'll have the door," she reasoned.

"What the hell does that mean?" Natsuki huffed indignantly sweeping her hair over one shoulder, "and it's not your door to bargain with." She frowned leaning angrily towards the heiress and tightening her grip on the jacket, "I found _both _of them and I'm keeping _both _of them."

Shizuru's hung onto the preserver and mirrored Natsuki's posture leaning towards the cobalt haired woman until they were almost nose to nose. "Same old Natsuki, you haven't changed one little bit," Shizuru sneered.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Bad-tempered, self-serving brat…"

"I'm selfish!" Natsuki chuckled humorlessly. "Oh that's rich coming from you princess! How's Mummy and Daddy? Still pandering…sorry I mean paying for your every whim and fancy?"

Shizuru was outraged. "Why you little…Give it to me," Shizuru hissed through her teeth trying to pull the jacket away from Natsuki.

"No!" Natsuki growled tugging it back towards her.

"YES!" Shizuru tugged.

"NO!" Natsuki tugged.

Back and forth, back and forth the jacket was pulled between the two women. The wind increased, swirling and whistling round the two figures locked in battle reminding them of the fast approaching storm. Their tug of war became more desperate and intense verbal quarrel reduced to growls and exasperated yells as the two participants saved all their energy for their physical scuffle. After a few minutes of intense struggling Natsuki seemed to be getting the upper hand over the pampered heiress as she pulled it closer towards her body even attempting to place the life jacket back over her arm, but Natsuki had forgotten an important characteristic of Shizuru—no matter the odds or the opponent, in business as well as in life, Shizuru always got what she wanted.

With her last remaining strength and a primal scream fueled by terror and desperation Shizuru suddenly jerked the jacket backward and down unbalancing the surprised mechanic and forcing her to follow the jacket's trajectory. Shizuru used her momentum to turn slightly away from Natsuki and (in a fluid motion a matador would be proud of) pulled the jacket back up, round and straight from the mechanic's hands just before Natsuki hit the ship's deck face first with a grunt.

Shizuru roared with victory. She had experienced the exhilaration of winning battles in the boardroom but they were insignificant compared to the thrill she felt from her victory from their physical battle. Shizuru body was coursing with adrenaline, she felt powerful, wild like a fierce animal freed from its suffocating cage. Consumed and dizzy from a mixture of residual anger and triumph Shizuru thoughtlessly raised the jacket above her head with another roar of victory and let the defeated Natsuki watch from her position sprawled at the champion's feet as she threw her spoils of war straight over the ship railings.

Natsuki scrambled to her feet, "What the fuck did you do that for?" she yelled running over to the railing just in time to watch the jacket teasingly float away from the boat and out to sea.

"If I'm not having the jacket then you're certainly not having it," Shizuru shrieked wildly pointing at herself and then Natsuki. Indulging in savagery was immodest, barbaric and to the respectable heiress it felt incredible and glorious, until Natsuki turned back towards her and brought her crashing back to reality.

"And now neither of us has it idiot!"

Realization dawned and Shizuru's jaw dropped and her eyes widening in terror. "I don't know why I did that. I...I don't like surprises," she finished in a whisper, embarrassed and astonished by her moment of madness.

Natsuki groaned miserably as she dejectedly slid down the railings onto the deck her head in her hands. "It took me twenty minutes to find that jacket! Where the hell are we going to get another one before the storm hits us?" Natsuki grumbled. "The wind is already becoming stronger. It's only a matter of time before…"

Shizuru nervously chewed on her fingernail and drowned out the rest of Natsuki's rant so she could think clearly, she had to think. She hadn't really listened to the onboard induction from the sleazy Bellboy but she vaguely remembered something he said about abandoning ship and life jackets...

"My cabin! There should be one in my cabin," she said excitedly as she ran back into her room with Natsuki close behind her.

"Where?" Natsuki asked as Shizuru ran into the living room and began ripping open the cupboards and pulling out the dresser drawers.

"I'm not sure. Search everywhere! Take the bedroom," Shizuru said pausing to quickly point towards the bedroom door.

Natsuki followed Shizuru's instructions and raced into the bedroom. She didn't even stop for the obligatory whistle at the size and extravagance of the bedroom before she began to overturn the luxurious room following Shizuru's example. Rain began to pelt against the bedroom window and the noise made Natsuki pause and grimace with anxiety. The storm was getting closer and if they didn't get into the sea soon they'd be stuck on a sinking ship.

Resuming her search she tipped over the heavy wooden bed to find a large enticing safety box. She ripped it open excitedly and squealed with joy when she found not one, but two top of line life jackets and another waterproof bag full of emergency provisions such as dried food, rope, binoculars and a torch. She hugged one of the jackets and thanked every God and Deity for the upper classes because they certainly know how to look after their own.

"Shizuru I found them!" she shrieked.

Shizuru eagerly bounded into the bedroom. "Thank God!" she breathed in relief as Natsuki threw a life jacket towards her and she embraced her chance of survival.

"We need to get into the sea and we need the door if we want to reach land," Natsuki said putting on her jacket. She crammed her own belongings into the emergency pack. "I'm assuming you still can't swim?" Shizuru nodded worriedly as she put her own jacket over her robe.

"Don't worry I'll help you," Natsuki reassured confidently even though her swimming abilities was best described as floating with frantic arm movements.

"There's a private ladder from my balcony we could use." Shizuru suggested.

"Good idea. I'll get the door, you unlock the balcony." Natsuki instructed beginning to follow Shizuru back into the living room. She paused after catching a glint in the thick carpet; she bent down and picked up a metal object she identified as a diamond ring. _'Wow precious.'_ It looked expensive and probably cost more money than Natsuki made in five years. Thinking Shizuru would probably want it she put it in her shirt pocket and immediately forgot all about it, she had bigger things to worry about.

Reconvening on the balcony Natsuki crouched on the deck and hastily secured the emergency bag onto the door with a rope.

"What's next? We can't just get into the sea and start swimming in any direction?" Shizuru said nervously shifting from foot to foot and chewing her fingernails.

"Errrr…I have a map…sort of." Natsuki said hesitantly without looking up.

"That's not very comforting. What do you mean sort of?" Shizuru frowned. Natsuki sighed and handed her a leaflet from her jean's pocket.

Shizuru read the title, "Freddy the Fish is on his way to Greece," she said impassively opening the Children's travel leaflet to reveal a cartoon map showing the Cruise liner's course to Greece.

Natsuki finished and stood up pointing the map. "I think we're about here so if we head North East for about a mile we should reach this large island here," she explained, turning to quickly lower the door over the railing and into the sea by the left over rope.

"And if we pass Ollie the happy Octopus," Shizuru deadpanned pointing at the picture of the smiling Octopus waving from the sea, "we should be heading in the right direction," she ended dryly as Natsuki finished lowering the door into the sea.

"It was the only thing I could find and I have a compass under my watch's face," with one hand still holding the rope Natsuki snatched back the "map" with one of her famous glares. "Do you have a better idea?" she challenged, Natsuki smiled in satisfaction when Shizuru shook her head demurely.

"Hurry up then," Natuski barked lifting her leg over the railing and making her way down the ladder with the rope still in her hand. Looking down at the door making sure it stayed close to the bottom of the ladder she felt Shizuru climb over the railing as the ladder shifted slightly with the added weight. The wind and rain assaulted the two women as they climbed down the ladder and a few times during their descent they had to stop and cling to the ladder.

"Errrr…Natuski don't look up." Shizuru yelled over the wind trying to hold down her short robe with one hand but Natsuki was only human and so did exactly what every human would do, she immediately looked up.

"What do you mean don't look….gaahhhh," she screamed in shock letting go of the ladder to shield her eyes from the sight that greeted her and with a frightened scream, she fell from the ship straight into the sea. She hit the cold water with a gasp, plunging into the dark water, luckily her swimming abilities stretched to floating and with the help of the buoyant life jacket she kicked her way back to the surface.

As she reappeared a few meters away from the ladder to find Shizuru at the bottom of it frantically calling her name as the heiress searched the water.

"What the hell Shizuru!" Natsuki shouted furiously as she swam back towards the ladder glad she was still holding the rope, "Where the hell is your under…gah" she yelled as Shizuru ignored the hostile mechanic and jumped into the sea pulling Natsuki into an embrace.

"You're ok, I was so worried," Shizuru said between sobs. Natsuki's anger immediately dissipated and she blushed, unused to anyone showing concern for her wellbeing.

"With good reason you nearly killed me," she said pulling away with a smile to show Shizuru she was joking. Shizuru returned the smile and reluctantly let go of the mechanic. Happy that both jackets were keeping them afloat Natsuki began pulling the door towards them.

"Now come M'lady your vessel awaits," she gestured gallantly towards the door. Once Shizuru was half laying on their makeshift raft her legs dangling in the water Natsuki put the loose rope on the door and climbed beside her.

"A mile is a long way for us to swim," Shizuru said turning to her. "Despite the fast closing storm I suggest we slowly make our way North-East to try and conserve our energy…"

Natsuki listened, nodding along and agreeing with Shizuru's "slow and steady" strategy until she felt something brush against her legs. Her face blanched, her eyes widening in terror, "Something really, really big just swam past my leg," she said slowly trying not to panic, "…and I don't think it's Ollie."

The two women stared at each other for a few seconds before silently agreeing to paddle like their life depended upon it, and knowing their luck on this particular day it probably did.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I still don't own anything, not even a doughnut or a freaking muffin because ww stole it from me and pretends to be innocent.

A/Ns: Wunderwolfer said she's a big fan of mine. Well, I do believe her. What can I say I'm extremely talented? *hit by a truck* Nah, I'm kidding. I know she's massive in size (make way people) but I don't know about the word 'fan'. Feels like what the wolf would say to entice the three little pigs before eating 'em, if you know what I mean? Haha XD I also deny any attempt of her slandering my good name. Believe me, I didn't force her to do anything or would dare kill her. Why? Because she's my grandma *died laughing*

*reborn* Kidding aside. I'm terribly sorry for the lack of update. I'm currently under the weather…wait, no…more like submerged into the ocean with my muse. If I'm not busy, I'm not in the mood to write. Not a proper excuse but that's all I have. I feel crap about this one but ww said it was an amazingly life changing chapter *giggles* so I continued (ofc this is a lie lol).

Reviews are appreciated. Thank you to everyone. Good or bad thoughts are welcomed. Just to be fair and clear though, send your death threats to ww and the chocolates to me, alright? (

P.S.

Please vote in the poll that can be found in our profile. WW is cheating by voting herself twice using her account and this joint one. Injustice, that's what this is! XD

FYI: I had Titanic and Castaway in mind when I was inspired to start this fic. But there's Shiznat's humor and romance instilled in this so this would be totally different (sort of) from those two movies.

Playlist: This chapter was inspired by Lily Allen's Fuck You. You'd know why after reading it (

wAki

* * *

**So We Meet Again**

* * *

It's been Shizuru's fifth sigh since they'd departed the slowly sinking ship. Natsuki knows this for she's been counting every sigh and grumble of the heiress. While she was paddling with all her might in the cold and ragged water, Shizuru, like the spoiled child that she is, was only dipping her hands on the water in a slow motion kind of manner. And once Natsuki really took her time and observed the other girl, she can surmise that the knuckle-deep paddling of the brunette wasn't helping at all.

To make matters worse, the heiress started to complain. "I'm tired. Are we there yet?"

It took all Natsuki's patience to stop herself from strangling the woman in her right. _Just one push and she'll topple over board. Right. Just one push and I'm out of this misery._

"I've been doing this for what seems like hours and it seems we're not moving!" Shizuru again wailed, not even glancing at her companion who was now beet-red in anger.

_Patience, Natsuki. She's Shizuru Fujino for fuck sake! You should have known she'll be like this!_

"Are you sure there was no one else on board? Everyone left with an escape boat? Are you sure there were no one left?" Shizuru continued to question Natsuki as she inspected her fingers that are slowly turning blue from cold and wrinkly from being soaked in the water for too long. She grimaced at her delicate hands' appearance, still ignoring the fuming dark-haired woman.

"Hey, do you—"

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Natsuki's anger finally erupted and she took the other girl's startled expression as a sign of surrender.

She was about to continue rowing their boat in peace, or door if they're going to be technical, when she heard a huffing, "You don't have to be a bitch, I'm just asking."

Natsuki, with all intention to shove the infuriating girl off of her door (it was hers to begin with), knelt in front of Shizuru and yelled, "Fuck you! Shut up!"

Shizuru bit her own retort when the furious mechanic yelled, "One, I don't fucking know if we're there yet because I don't fucking know where 'there' is! So don't—"

"But don't you have a map? Freddie the Fish is—"

"Don't fucking interrupt me!" Natsuki bellowed making Shizuru gulp nervously. The heiress wasn't used to people yelling at her. To be factual, there's only one person who ever did that to her and that person was right in front of her. This made her speechless for some reason. _'Despite the years we've been apart, she's still the same' _she thought while Natsuki continued her tirade. "Two, you're tired? Fucking hilarious! We're not moving because of your so-called-paddling! Hell even if you paddle like that for years we won't move even an inch! The only reason we are moving forward and not _backwards_ is because I'm twisting my arms off! Three, I'm sure no one else was on board, and I'm fucking sure there are no fucking boat left. If there was, did you think I'd resort to carrying this heavy door over my head whilst looking for a ladder?"

"I—"

Anger consumed Natsuki's sanity and she stood up despite the raging waves. She was wobbling terribly although she managed to stay upright but only because she's stabilizing herself by rocking left and right with both hands in flight position."Fuck you!" she yelled, literally seeing red not in her companion's eyes but in her very own vision. She's seeing red in extreme fury. "Thank you very much for complaining when I basically saved your sorry ass!"

And then she fell off.

* * *

"Are you done laughing at me?" Natsuki muttered exasperatedly. Since she shamelessly fell off their (_No, it's mine!_ Natsuki thought) door aka lifeboat Shizuru began giggling to her heart's content, tears forming in her eyes and totally forgetting their dire situation.

"But you…" Shizuru biting her lips to stay serious but to no avail, "you…" still giggling, "…fell off!"

"Right. Right. You already had fun at my expense for…" The clearly pissed mechanic stared at non-existing wrist watch. "…thirty minutes." She rolled her eyes when the brunette merely laughed in response. "Now would be a good time to help me," she muttered impolitely.

When she was still being ignored and laughed at, she circled 'her' door with every intention to pull (or push) Shizuru out of 'her' door. She successfully grabbed onto the heiress' right arm and it was moments before she'd pull the most annoying creature on Earth (_Or the whole universe!_ Natsuki mentally added) when she felt _something_ bumping on her thigh.

At first she thought that it was her imagination. That maybe the cold and soreness in every part of her body led her to conjure with these hallucinations. But then she felt it once again.

_Fuck! This cannot happen. _

"Are you alright?" was Shizuru's uncomfortable inquiry. Not long ago she was pissed at Natsuki's attitude and laughed at her amusing tumble but seeing the latter's face filled with horror made her recall of their situation.

"I'm—" another bump, "—shit! What was that? That's not Ollie!"

"Ollie the happy Octopus?" the heiress asked in disbelief. "He really does exist?"

"Shit, shit, shit!" Natsuki chanted and frantically stated, "Help me get on! Hurry!"

But the heiress wasn't so keen in helping, "That's not the way to ask someone for help."

Under any other circumstances the mechanic would find the heiress' ridiculous attempt to tease her slightly amusing but… "I've got no time for jokes! Come on will you?! Help me get on or I'll push you off!"

Shizuru was flabbergasted by Natsuki's remarkably bad attitude. Since their childhood the other woman was stubborn and extremely rude. She'd curse left and right without proper reason. One time she caught her cursing a bench in the local park for, well, being there. The rascal, as her guardians would call her childhood friend, accidentally lost her footing and fell head-first onto the bench which was recently painted black and white, marking the poor girl's face in stripes like a zebra. Shizuru giggled at the girl's reaction but quickly hid her amusement when she received a venomous glare. They were childhood friends but they would bicker so much that people assumed they hated each other. They do hate each other although surprisingly enough they tend to comfort and understand each other when it really counts.

"You don't have to be so bossy," Shizuru muttered under her breath. She didn't want to have a row with Natsuki because whether they want it or not, this is one of those times that they need to stick together and tolerate one another if they want to survive. On the other hand, she really cannot believe how foul her childhood friend had become. If back then, the girl would curse left and right now it was like she was cursing in time with her normal breathing. The heiress cannot imagine what the other would do if she's really in a very, very foul mood.

She didn't need to wait a second longer because she was suddenly pushed into the cold water after ignoring the girl's request-slash-command.

"Cold!" was Shizuru's initial response as she tries her best to stay afloat. When she took a hold of the door knob which was conveniently near her, she shouted at her companion, "Natsuki! Why in heaven's name did you do that?!"

"I told you, either help me or I'll push you off _my _door."

"Well now that you successfully pushed me off, who would help you get on then?" Shizuru scoffed knowingly. She tried her best not to argue but when it comes to them, fighting seemed to be…natural.

_Not exactly what I'd like to do in this situation... _She sighed heavily._ And here I thought I was lucky to see a familiar face…what lame luck. A big irony because they'd always say I was born under a lucky star._ She eyed her frowning childhood friend then eyed at the starless night. _Right. Lucky….not._

"I—" Natsuki then realized that Shizuru was right. She cannot exactly hop on top of her door in this situation. If the waves weren't so large and the weather wasn't so angry then she could have get on without difficulty, they both know this, but she can hardly admit that to the heiress without swallowing her pride. If there was one thing that Natsuki highly regarded it's her being righteous or _self_-righteous as mentioned by the heiress. She doesn't have anything, money or relationship-wise. All she has are her conviction and ambition to succeed.

_One day I'll build my own motorcycle and travel the whole world. _

A slap of the wind woke her up from her reverie. _Yeah, I know. I have to survive this shit first…_

She eyed her shivering companion and felt sorry for her. She knew perfectly well that Shizuru was not built or accustomed to these kinds of scenarios. She grew up with her after all. She saw the endless tea parties, calligraphy lessons and archery class Fujino had attended. She was born with a silver spoon, raised to live and enjoy the luxury and comforts of life. She was not like her who knew nothing of her biological parents. She was raised to serve others, to wait for others' scraps to eat. She knew that she should be grateful to Shizuru's family because if not for their kindness—or impulsiveness perhaps—she would still be living on the streets, searching for food and shelter day and night.

"I'm sorry," she started to say. But due to the increasing wrath of the ocean and heavens her voice was not heard. Shizuru mouthed 'what?' to her so she repeated what she said, "I said I'm sorry!"

Shizuru shook her head making Natsuki frustrated by her inability to send the message across. The heiress closed the gap by modestly kicking her feet and bobbing her head in the water while both of her hands are tightly holding to the sides of the door. The mechanic thought it was funny and she allowed a smirk to pass through her lips.

"What's so funny?" Shizuru asked when she was almost near the amused Natsuki.

"No, it's nothing." Her eyes still playful despite her attempt to stay serious. Their situation is grave but all they've been doing is laughing and pissing each other off.

The brunette was about to retort when she stepped onto something. She kept on flapping her feet underwater even after arriving at her destination which was the dark-haired woman's side. She feared that she would sink if she didn't move her limbs. Also there's her hidden fear of open water in general. She had an unfortunate accident during childhood leading her to fear the water. She was traumatized, but not traumatized enough to admit to her old friend that she's still scared, and have not successfully moved on. If they have one thing in common, that is that both highly regard and guard their pride. Although Shizuru can't help but think, _I wonder if she still remembers that day…_

An awkward cough was produced. Shizuru eyed a now bashful looking Natsuki. "Are you now okay by the way?"

Feigning innocence she replied, "Okay with what?"

"With…" a whisper, "being in the water?"

Shizuru tried to hide her fears from showing in her eyes. Oddly enough, Natsuki also has been the only one who can see through her pretentious smiles. _She's the only one who can see through the barrier of my eyes… _Showing any sign of weakness was not Shizuru's intention, especially not in front of her childhood friend-slash-enemy so she deflected the question easily with, "Look! A chest!"

Natsuki briefly eyed Shizuru, knowing full well her sincere inquiry has been deflected. She sighed disappointedly and looked at where the latter has pointed. They've been mindlessly trying to swim for the past who-knows-what with only her second-hand compass and the cruise's emergency torch as their guide. Natsuki was amazed that Shizuru can even see because the torch can only provide so little light for her to fully discern an object from a distance. _But it's Shizuru we're talking about…anything bizarre is possible especially with those eyes, _she thought.

She doesn't need to say anything as Shizuru excitedly shouted, "That's my chest!" After overcoming her initial excitement she became baffled and asked to no one in particular, "Why is it here?" She looked behind them and saw the cruise is still afloat, completely deserted merely waiting for its inevitable demise. Then something dawn to her. "Those idiots! They must have stolen this amidst the evacuation. Whoever they are will be sorry that—"

"Whoever they are, Shizuru, they must have fled the scene in fright and took whatever they saw in the warehouse. How is it supposed to know it's yours? I know you're conceited but—"

Shizuru simply jabbed her index finger to the obvious engraving that Natsuki stupidly failed to see. It says: Property of Shizuru Fujino. "That evidence enough for you?" Shizuru mocked.

"You bi—"

"Seriously! Who would dare steal from _me_! A Fujino! The nerve!" Natsuki let the heiress rant for as long as she liked while she worriedly gave the heavens a brief glance. She's a mechanic and not a meteorologist but she knows that when a cloud is that dark—pitch black to be accurate—then it's a no brainer that it'll pour hard and fast.

"We need to get out of range…fast," she muttered.

"…They cannot get away from—" Shizuru ceased in her rant when she saw the look at Natsuki's face. "…what did you say?" she stammered. She knows that look. She knows that look very well. They were not old friends for nothing. As easily that they can fight each other, they both know the tell tale signs of one another.

Natsuki was about to answer cohesively when she saw from afar the whirlpool that probably made the decision for the Captain to evacuate. _Shit! So it's not only a storm that's coming. Even if we managed to fix the ship on time and evade the storm miraculously, we're going to be sucked into that bitch. Fuck this! Who in mayo's name was born under a fucking shitty star?_

Suddenly Natsuki felt two trembling hands shaking her shoulders. "Natsuki! Tell me! What's going on?"

The mechanic bit her lips and eyed the ominous force of nature once more. "Shizuru, we're not going to make it if we kept still in this place, in this weather. Let's move on—hey!" The heiress suddenly clung to her tighter with both of her legs embraced the mechanic's stomach.

"Watch it Fujino you—" then she remembered that Shizuru doesn't have any underwear and she blushed, forgetting whatever insult she was going to say. But then she felt the hold getting tighter, she felt the shiver and heard the sobs coming from her friend—_old _friend, she mentally corrected herself.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked genuinely. She gingerly grabbed Shizuru's hiding face with her both hands, removing the forming tears or pooling salt water (who can tell really?) in her crimson eyes.

"…I felt…" sob, "…something…" sob, "underwater…"

Natsuki rolled her eyes. "Don't tell me it's Ollie? Don't be ridiculous Shiz," she bit her lips when she let her slip the old nickname she had for the heiress.

"…but…you felt it too, right?" she was then eyed by those scared eyes. _Normally those eyes contain so much passion, a fire you cannot contain. A pool of arrogance and confidence but now…look at this sniffing, shrivelling mess._

"We're both paranoid because of this…" she looked wearily at a distance seeing their opponents in this round, in this inopportune stage, "…incident." She laughed inwardly, knowing that she's joking herself if she can call this _catastrophe_ a mere incident. She's aware that she's a cold hearted bitch but seeing her quivering mess of a childhood friend, she knows she's not completely heartless. _She's going to go mad once she sees what we're really up for…_

"Incident," a soft chuckle, "that's putting it mildly even for you, Kuga." Shizuru smiled haughtily that Natsuki recognized as very 'Shizuru Fujino'.

In return Natsuki pinched Shizuru's nose, "Cheeky cow!"

"I'm not—eeekkk!" the heiress shrieked so loud that Natsuki feared she had destroyed her eardrum. Shizuru, this time, clung with an inch of her life to Natsuki's back, removing her shirt from being tucked in her fitted work pants. She was about to untangle the heiress' legs when she felt _something_ pressing in her _bare _stomach. _Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!_ She knows what that something is now and she's panicking as she can't tell whether to be pleased or be pissed.

"Get off me, Shizuru!" she yelled while trying her best to shove the girl away from her and _fast! _

"I stepped…" Shizuru began to babble again. "NATSUKI!"

"WHAT?!"

"I stepped on someone's face!"

Natsuki was preparing to curse the mad girl when she felt the _face_ herself. She never stepped on someone else's face before except for that one time she kicked someone's nose instead of punching it. Now she's feeling the same sensation she had back then. _The contour is the same…even the feel…shit! It really is a face!_

They screamed at the top of their lungs at the same time, kicking their feet underwater as if wanting to rinse the feeling of ever having touched the face. Momentarily it was gone and both released a sign of relief. But they realized they made the wrong move because the next thing they felt was a sure limb of a body—an arm.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" they cried in unison. Natsuki's cursing must have rubbed onto Shizuru's or that Shizuru has been capable but too prude to do so. It doesn't matter though for both screamed and thrashed frantically that they didn't notice they were getting farther and farther away from their source of light and heat—their door, carrying every supply they have including the two life jackets they foolishly took off because they called each other an 'idiot' for wearing them.

They noticed this at the same time. They gulped nervously as they realized that they both don't know how to swim. And with green and red orbs anxiously holding each other's in fear, the two newly reunited childhood friends both sunk together.


	4. Chapter 4

AN/: Hello fellow followers it's WW here. aren't you glad I'm back? I know, I know, I'm delightful.

Seeing as wAki has spent a great deal of her time and energy trying to sully my good name via her chapter and by creating biased polls e.g. "is wunderwolfer evil?" with only affirmative voting options (she's lucky she lives half a world away *shakes fist in the general direction of her part of the world*), I thought I would clear up a few things before I begin my chapter. Firstly, I may have put on a few pounds over the holidays but I am not an overweight granny and secondly I did not cheat on the poll regarding "which of us is the nicest" because I do think I'm the nicest of the two of us, hence voting for myself, and we both know I'm the nicest of the two of us hence voting for myself using our joint account. See no cheating at all.

The reason she is desperately trying to paint me as the villain in our little duo is to divert attention away from herself. Why? Because few people know that truth about wAki, come closer and I'll whisper it to you. You see dear followers wAki is actually a devious pirate but not just any pirate she is the notorious Captain Anxious McMuffin scourge of the seven seas and most feared of all pirates. And when she is not writing fanfiction aboard her ship 'The majestic mango' or ordering her skivvies to scrub the deck with live kittens (she thinks their soft fur gives her deck an unrivaled shine), she's stealing muffins and other baked confectioneries from the vulnerable and hungry. So consider yourself warned, beware Captain A and be sure to keep vegetables around you to ward off the evil pirate.

So what was I doing?...oh yeah fanfiction. Here's the next SWMA chapter hope you like it and thanks for the lovely reviews, they warm the cockles of our heart and that means Captain A is a little nicer to those kittens. Keep 'em coming and I promise I'll respond to my chapter reviews this time. See, I told you I was delightful.

wunderwolfer (the better half of whenwunderwolferkicksin).

Tag waki you're _IT_! *runs away giggling*.

* * *

Natsuki woke up in pain. Every inch of her body ached and burned and moving hurt. Even breathing was difficult; it felt like something was crushing her lungs and her throat was on fire. The last thing she remembered was drowning with Shizuru; perhaps she was dead. _Shizuru...where is Shizuru? Is she dead too?_

"Shizuru," she whispered coughing as the words tickled her dry throat.

Silence.

She cautiously opened her eyes and hissed as even the sunlight hurt. She had never felt so ill in all her life; she had found that she wasn't dead but she felt like she was dying. She kicked off the blanket that covered her to cool down her overheated, sweat covered skin. A little more comfortable, her glazed and tired eyes searched her surroundings and found that she was lying in her underwear on a small bed in a small tidy unfamiliar cabin. Obviously she was still at sea as the ship and its cabin rolled distinctively. There was a bottle of water on the bedside table and she sat up slightly to take a sip and search the rest of the room. Sunlight came through a small porthole on the back wall lighting the room. Everything was made of the same dark wood: the desk at the back of the room, the wardrobe at the end of the bed and even the floor so the light brown chest under the desk stood out from all the other furniture. She recognized it immediately as Shizuru's.

Anxious to investigate why Shizuru's chest was in this strange cabin she leapt to her feet and fell to her knees; her body was too weak to hold her and all she could do was lie in a heap on the floor and call weakly for her friend. She was ill, alone and in a strange place - she felt like crying. Where was she? How had she got here? Where was Shizuru and why was she in her underwear?

"Yes captain."

Natsuki froze and listened to the voices coming from the other side of the door.

"Yes captain," the male voice said pausing as the quiet, almost inaudible voice responded. "Right away cap'in," he finished and Natsuki heard his heavy footsteps move away from the door.

Natsuki's heart dropped with dread as keys rattled in the key hole indicating that someone was still there and they were trying to get into the cabin. Natsuki had no idea who was on the other side of the door or what they wanted from her but she had been locked inside this room and so she had to assume the worse.

_Shizuru. I have to find Shizuru and escape._

Determined, she used the desk to pull herself from the floor gripping its edge until the room stopped spinning from the head rush. Quickly she searched around for a weapon within reach but there was nothing just the plastic water bottle she was holding. The key turned in the lock and the door handle began to move and Natsuki stumbled behind the door just as it opened and held her weapon aloft.

A woman entered and without looking around the room sauntered straight to the desk, placed her tray on the wooden furniture and began to fuss with its contents. Natsuki scrutinized the woman's appearance from behind - white vest, knee high black leather boots over light brown trousers, eye patch and a red and white-spotted bandana over her head and hair. Her suspicions had been correct, they were bad people in fact they were the very worse. There was no way the woman's job description could be confused with anything else she was practically wearing the uniform. _Oh fuck pirates. Fucking real-life, devious, villainous, murderous pirates. Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit..._ Natsuki thought her eyes widening in fear. She'd heard the horror stories surrounding pirates; tales of villainy, abduction, murder. She was absolutely terrified but she needed the keys the pirate were holding if she was to have any chance of escaping this room and finding Shizuru.

Natsuki gently pushed the door until it quietly clicked shut. Her eyes never leaving her captor she unsteadily crept up behind her raised her bottle and brought it down on the woman's bandana.

"Owwwww," the woman complained as the plastic half-empty bottle bounced harmlessly off her head. She span around angrily to face her attacker. "Why the hell did...aarrrggghh," she screamed as Natsuki dizzy from the exertion fell forward pulling the pirate down with her in a last ditch attempt to overcome the woman.

Straddling the pirate's hips Natsuki towered over the woman, too weak and light headed to even form a fist she began slapping the pirate's face. The biker was desperate to do as much damage as possible before she passed out but her attacks were so weak they were more like pats than slaps and the woman just endured her attacks with an irritated glare.

The pirate rolled her visible crimson eye. "Could you please stop doing that?" Natsuki ignored her request, her head was spinning, her vision was beginning to blur, and finding her first mode of attack ineffective she moved onto the next stage of her two-pronged attack – hair pulling. She pulled off the woman's bandana to reach her target and began tiredly pawing at the pirate's long chestnut hair. Unimpressed by Natsuki's attacks the pirate sighed in exasperation and grabbed both of Natsuki's hands yelling, "_NATSUKI STOP IT!"_

"Wha...who...," Natsuki reasoned that she must be having a fever induced hallucination because the pirate's red eye suddenly seemed very familiar and with her hair free from the bandana she looked and sounded just like...

"I see you're feeling better," Shizuru said in her most condescending, all too familiar tone.

The sight of her friend dressed in such a fashion resulted in a mixture of such relief and shock that all the adrenaline that had been fuelling Natsuki attack suddenly disappeared and she passed out onto the woman below her.

"Or maybe not," Shizuru corrected herself after prodding Natsuki a few times and gaining no response. _How exactly am I supposed to get out from under her? _she wondered._ For someone so small she weighs a ton. _There was nothing else for it, she had to get help.

"Anders...Anders could you please come here for a moment?" Shizuru shouted.

A man entered wearing the smal pirate uniform as Shizuru (minus the boots). "Aye captain," the man boomed again as he came bounding into the room averting his eyes as soon as he saw the half naked woman lying on top of Shizuru. "Oh sorry...beg your pardon," he apologized starting to leave the room.

"No Anders get back in here and help me get her into my bed..." he turned back towards them in astonishment. "...no I mean _she_ will be the only one in the bed _we_ will be outside the bed," Shizuru began to ramble uncharacteristically as the ill uncomfortable woman groaned miserably and began to wriggling on top of her. "No _I _will be beside the bed, you will be outside the room, and _she_ will be in my bed...so put her on my bed and then give us some privacy..." she squeaked as the comatose Natsuki tried to make herself more comfortable by nuzzling into Shizuru's comfy parts, "but not for that...what I mean to say…"

"Right you are Cap'in," the large dark-haired man barked kindly interrupting Shizuru's embarrassed rambling. He picked up Natsuki allowing Shizuru to stand and as instructed placed her ill friend on the bed and immediately left closing the door behind him.

Shizuru returned to the desk to finish making the Natsuki's tea and keep her mind busy. She always found the routine of making tea as relaxing as actually drinking it and as always the practice had its desired effect but it left Shizuru contemplating over why she needed its pacifying ability in the first place. Her musing was interrupted as Natsuki suddenly sat up and began violently coughing. Rushing to her friend she waited until she finished coughing and then holding her upright placed the teacup to her lips. Natsuki eyes looked up at Shizuru as the heiress helped her to drink._ Her large green eyes look so tired and pitiful; she's almost adorable when she isn't cussing._

Natsuki concentrated on Shizuru - she had to stay awake for Shizuru. She could barely keep her eyes open she was so tired and it felt like her brain was trying to escape trough her ears but she couldn't leave the vulnerable heiress alone and so was using all her energy to resist falling asleep. There was no time for being ill they had to escape. She pushed the cup away.

"Shizuru…Shizuru…no...no," she murmured groggily. She feebly struggled against Shizuru as the heiress laid her down onto the bed and covered her exhausted friend with the blanket.

"You're safe Natsuki, sleep," Shizuru reassured, gently stroking her forehead with her cool hand until Natsuki stopped fighting and closed her eyes.

"No...pirates…pirates…Shizuru," she didn't want to leave Shizuru alone but couldn't defy sleep any longer and everything began to fade to black with Shizuru's voice.

"Don't worry Natsuki I've commandeered this vessel. Welcome aboard 'The Merry Widow'."

Natsuki figured that she must have been hallucinating.

* * *

_The sea swallowed them whole and darkness took them. Terrified they hung on to one another, neither one of them willing to let go of the other. _

_It was as if Shizuru was reliving that fateful day in the park when she slipped into cold water and a passing unknown girl jumped in to save her. Even though she couldn't swim Natsuki jumped into the river to help a complete stranger and if it hadn't been for Shizuru's mother the two of them would have drowned together before they'd even met._

_But this time there was no one to save them as the water sucked them under and water began to fill her lungs as Shizuru screamed and struggled. Sensory deprivation set in, she was sure this was the end, and the only thing she was aware of was Natsuki's loosening her strong grip and the biker's arms falling away from her. _

_The loss of Natsuki's touch was like a switch in Shizuru's mind. That strong instinct for self-preservation came back to the helm along with a desperate desire to save the woman she was holding. Those few swimming lessons she had before her accident came flooding back and gripping Natsuki's shirt she instinctively kicked her way back to the surface. _

_They burst through the water gasping for air. Natsuki's eyes were still closed but she coughed the water from her lungs and Shizuru was relieved that the biker was alive though unconscious. She looked around her to search for the nearest floatable object her head bobbing up and down in the water as she struggled to keep them both above the water. Spying her chest nearby, she slowly doggie paddled towards it pulling the mechanic behind her. Too concerned for her friend's wellbeing to care about the dead body below she threw her arm over the chest and with the other held the biker's back to her chest. _

_The storm had increased in its severity and the sea roared swelling and crashing against them over and over again, trying to rip Shizuru from their makeshift raft. Keeping hold of the wooden chest and Natsuki was proving to be exhausting and Shizuru was not sure how much longer she could hold on and then just when Shizuru thought things couldn't get any worse she spied the reason for Natsuki's earlier distress, the whirlpool and it was dragging the pair towards its doom. _

_It seemed that Shizuru's luck left her. There was nothing she could do, no solution or escape and no amount of determination or strength could save them. Even though she was terrified she reconciled herself to her inevitable fate her only regret was that Natsuki would die as well and she was grief stricken that she couldn't save her. If their roles had been reversed she knew that resourceful and intuitive Natsuki would have found a way. _

_"I'm sorry Natsuki," she said sadly kissing her the top of her friend's head. She was happy for small mercies, glad that Natsuki was not aware of what was about to happen._

_Closing her eyes to grimly await her death Shizuru was unaware of the fast approaching ship. _

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Natsuki said after Shizuru had finished her abridged account of how they ended up on the Merry Widow (withholding a few choice details such as the kiss and how she had been so worried about the biker that she had barely left Natsuki's bedside -she couldn't explain her sudden protective and overly magnanimous behavior towards Natsuki to herself so she certainly couldn't explain it to the biker). "They pulled us aboard this ship 'The Merry Widow' and found that I had a fever and I've been in and out of consciousness for two weeks."

Shizuru sat beside Natsuki's bed in her pirate uniform nodded and took a long sip of her tea to hide her guilty expression._ Kind of,_ the heiress thought.

"And in that time you managed to take over as captain of a pirate ship," Natsuki ended raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"No," Shizuru rolled her eyes. "Becoming captain of the ship took two days. It required quite a few meetings and negotiations."

"It was a beautiful PowerPoint presentation," the pirate Natsuki had learned was called Anders walked in carrying a plate with some more tea for Shizuru.

"It was," Shizuru agreed and the two pirates sighed dreamily at the memory of the persuasive presentation.

"You took over a pirate ship using PowerPoint?" Natsuki knew that Shizuru had become an extremely successful and powerful businesswoman but this explanation was so implausible it was ridiculous.

"Well Miss Shizuru persuaded the rest of the crew to call an all hands meeting and proposed a blue-ocean opportunity. We're talking unchartered waters potential!" the business pirate jargonaut tried to explain. "She reasoned that during the current financial crisis the leisure industry has seen a dramatic downturn that has financial implications on our capital, but the recession has also created a market for providing low-cost products. She advised us that it was completely scalable for us to bottom fish goods straight to the consumer."

The biker did not understand a word the pirate had just said. Most of them were actual words, most of them, but they were certainly not being used in the correct context and the remaining words were just nonsensical. She turned her questioning gaze towards the heiress.

"They're going to stop kidnapping people from yachts and go into smuggling," the businesswoman translated for the biker.

"Oh…err…good!" Natsuki offered unsure how she should respond to such news.

Anders grinned and moved to the end of the room placing the tray on the table and while his back was turned, Shizuru leaned forward whispering to Natsuki, "I facipulated their asses," her eyes sparkling with humor and delight.

Natsuki didn't even know what that meant nor did she want to know how Shizuru managed to inspire mutiny by doing something to their asses. "So what happened to the last Captain?" she asked changing the subject.

"He couldn't see the big picture and thought we were boiling the ocean," Anders scoffed rolling his eyes and handing Shizuru her second cup of tea. "So unfortunately we had to cut out the dead wood and we made Miss Shizuru Captain," he shrugged.

"You killed him!" This time Natsuki read right between the lines. " Shizuru!" Natsuki shouted her gaping open in shock at the rich socialite's behavior.

"He was going to throw you back overboard and take me as she personal concubine," Shizuru hissed before taking a sip of tea. "What did you expect me to do? I had no idea they'd kill him."

"Not to worry Miss if anyone deserved it t'was him, he was a right bastard even by pirate standards," he reassured the biker but it didn't make Natsuki feel any more comfortable that Shizuru had been so at ease with being involved in such devious acts. She was certainly seeing another side to the affluent heiress.

"Biscuit?" he held out a plate to of assorted biscuits to which Natsuki gaped at frozen in astonishment at the pirate's nonchalant attitude while in contrast Shizuru cooed excitedly and took a tantalizing custard cream. "Anything else Cap'in?" he asked and excused himself politely when Shizuru shook her head taking his biscuits with him.

Natsuki shook her head in disbelief. _This ship really was full of crazy people and so far the craziest person was sitting in front of her dressed as a pirate._ "So why exactly are you wearing...that?" Natsuki asked motioning towards the heiress' attire with a wave of her hand.

Shizuru giggled taking off the eye patch to reveal two perfectly healthy eyes. "The crew likes to be traditional although thankfully I managed to persuade them a shoulder parrot was not necessary. That reminds me please address me as Shizuru Viola because if they found out I was a Fujino they may decide that reverting back to kidnapping is a more lucrative venture."

Natsuki sighed. They were playing such a dangerous game. Just the wrong word or action and they could end up with their throats cut like the last captain. The sooner they got off this boat the better. "What are we doing Shizuru? We can't be pirates forever."

Shizuru finished her biscuit "Why not?" she frowned looking down at her attire. Being a pirate wasn't too bad when you weren't kidnapping people; smuggling didn't really hurt anyone who couldn't afford to lose a little. Granted it was illegal but large corporations had such inventive accountants they practically didn't pay any tax so smuggling was just missing out the middleman and providing people cheap inexpensive goods to people with low incomes. She was virtually a contemporary Robin Hood.

Natsuki sat up. "Why not?!" she barked. "Because they're murdering criminals. _Criminals, _Shizuru! And all these," she waved at Shizuru's clothes, "is just dress up. You are not a pirate and you are certainly not a captain. You couldn't even navigate an inflatable dingy in a swimming pool and..."

"Alright, alright we'll escape at the next port," Shizuru huffed petulantly slouching back in her chair.

"Good," Natsuki folded her arms looking extremely smug. Winning verbal battles against the heiress was still extremely satisfying.

"But I do look good as a pirate," Shizuru pouted sulkily.

"The boots are pretty cute on you," Natsuki conceded with a reluctant smile at Shizuru's mischievous giggle.

Natsuki jumped as Shizuru suddenly squeaked excitedly before running to the wardrobe and taking out a pile of clothes. "The crew had a spare uniform," Natsuki grimaced at the thought of wearing any uniform, "but I knew you would prefer your own clothes washed and ironed." Shizuru beamed proudly as the biker's eyes lit up excitedly at the sight of her clean jeans and shirt. Shizuru gave them to her and Natsuki held them to her chest. She didn't own much in the way of anything except her tool belt and clothes so to be reunited with some of her possessions was so moving it was pitiful. If Shizuru noticed she didn't say anything but smiled as Natsuki thanked her.

Shizuru pulled something from her own trouser pocket. "I also found this in the shirt pocket," Shizuru held up her diamond ring rolling it between her thumb and forefinger as she raised a questioningly eyebrow at the biker.

_Shiiiiit! _The biker had forgotten to tell the heiress that she picked up her ring and now her long silence made her look guilty. These situations always turned out badly, no one ever believed the poor orphan. "I found it on the floor...in your cabin," she said hesitantly trying the truth, "and thought you would want it." She bowed her head nervously fiddling with her shirt avoiding eye contact with Shizuru as she awaited her sentence.

"Oh," Shizuru shrugged and Natsuki looked up baffled as the heiress nonchalantly slipped the ring onto her finger signalling the end of her inquisition.

"You just believe me! Just like that?!" it was just too unusual a situation for Natsuki not to comment. "Wait a second," she shook her head changing the subject, "why have you put that on your ring finger," Natsuki frowned pointing accusingly at Shizuru's left hand.

"In answer to your first question; yes, why wouldn't I believe you," apart from a few misdemeanors before they met Natsuki was the most moral person she'd ever known. "And in answer to your second question, that is the tradition with engagement rings," she smiled that fake Shizuru smile only Natsuki knew and held out her hand out proudly so Natsuki could see the ring on her finger.

Natsuki surmised that the ring was hideous. The diamond was too big for Shizuru's small hands and along with the thick gold it was too elaborate and gaudy for Shizuru's modest tastes - whoever bought such vulgar jewellery didn't know the heiress at all.

She held Shizuru's fingertips as she glared at the offensive ring. "So who's the unlucky fellow?" she snorted unkindly, probably some rich wanker the ring looked expensive enough.

Shizuru's face fell as she pulled back her hand and stood up above the biker proudly glowering down at the biker. "Reito Kanzaki," she said slowly her eyes narrowing threateningly.

Seems Natsuki had been right. "That pompous self-conceited asshole!" Natsuki scoffed. That little shit that used to follow Shizuru around like a lapdog when they were children! Everyone always whittered on about how handsome and charming he was, and how Shizuru and him would make the perfect couple but Natsuki saw him for who he truly was. Why the hell would Shizuru settle for such a fucking boring loser? _She was always doing such stupid things,_ Natsuki seethed.

"We are well suited for each other," Shizuru explained folding her arms defensively.

"Oh be still my beating heart how romantic," Natsuki deadpanned holding her hand to her forehead as she fell back onto the bed pretending to swoon.

"He is very handsome, we are both own successful businesses, we care about one another and we are very much alike," she snapped bristled by Natsuki's reaction. _Why couldn't she be civilized and give the appropriate felicitations just like everyone else?_

Natsuki put her arms behind her head, "I'm not disputing that you are very similar, didn't you hear my description?" she smiled smugly closing her eyes: Natsuki two Shizuru zero. There was something so gratifying about shaking the refined Shizuru's composure; she was probably the only person in the world who ever managed to get under the typically, self-possesed Heiress' skin.

"You're just jealous," Shizuru sneered haughtily. It was the only possible reason for the biker's behavior it would explain why she was always chasing Reito around when they were children.

Natsuki's eyes shot open as she sat upright. "I'm not jealous of him!" she immediately rebuked glaring at the heiress.

Shizuru paused, her expression slowly changing from anger to confusion as she considered the biker's words. "I meant jealous of _me_," she explained slowly and unsure, "why would you be jealous of him?"

Natsuki's face fell.

An extremely awkward silence fell on the friends as they stared at one another. The biker had meant to say she was not jealous, _where the hell had the 'him' come from? _It must have been out of anger. The moment she said it she had felt angry and slightly betrayed, but why was she annoyed that Shizuru hadn't told her she was engaged? When exactly would have been a good time to tell her when they were jumping ship or swimming for their lives?

Natsuki opened her mouth to say something, anything to break the uncomfortable silence and was thankfully rescued by a knock on the door that made both women jump in surprise.

"Dinner is ready Captain," Ander's voiced boomed through the door.

Shizuru was the first to break eye contact as she glanced at the closed door. "Thank you Anders." And once broken Natsuki were doing everything to avoid it by bashfully staring down at her lap.

_Why the hell do I suddenly feel shy and guilty as if I've been caught doing something wrong?_

Shizuru, on the other hand, was baffled by the woman's odd behavior. The only rational reason was that her illness was still affecting her. Luckily for Natuski both friends seemed determined to act like the conversation had never happened. "You should get dressed. I'll wait outside," Shizuru advised picking up her eye patch and opening the door. She hesitated half way out the door as she thought about introducing Natsuki to the rest of the crew. "Please don't do that thing you do."

"What thing?" Natsuki asked temporarily forgetting her embarrassment as she frowned at the critical Heiress.

"You know," Shizuru explained with a wave her hand, "please don't be moralistic and judgmental this crew does not appreciate criticisms. Just be," what was the word she was looking for, "cool."

Natsuki scoffed. As far as she was concerned she was the epitome of cool.

"Fine," Natsuki scowled. "But if they start singing sea shanties I'm jumping overboard," she added as Shizuru closed the door.

"I can't promise anything," Shizuru sing-songed through the closed door.

Shaking her head Natsuki stood up and began to dress.

_This is a fucking crazy._

* * *

This is a fucking crazy," Natsuki exclaimed in astonishment as another chair narrowly missed her head. "How can you be so calm?!" she asked Shizuru who sat to the right of her at the head of the captain's table.

When Shizuru had brought Natsuki into the cramped, dark space of the ship's galley the meal had actually started pretty well considering she was eating with pirates. There were six in total not including Shizuru and they were all dressed similarly—vest, trousers and bandanas—and apart from Peg-leg Trev and Scurvy Pete, they even looked like each other with the same dark curly hair, narrow noses and dark eyes; family business Anders had simply explained. Half way through the dinner two of the pirates, Anxious Pete and Peg-leg Trev, had started a darts match (using throwing knives) at the end of the room but this had soon turned into a fight when one accused the other of cheating for stepping over the line. Hence the flying chairs and occasional throwing knife.

Shizuru seemed entirely relaxed quietly eating her dinner as the chaos erupting around the table. The other pirates seated at the table, Big Susie, Quick-witted Bob and Anders, seemed to be following Shizuru's example and calmly eating their meals prepared by Scurvy Sid. She looked down at her meal and considered the unappetizing nickname of the chef. Well she reasoned, Big Susie was a tiny, skinny woman, Quick-witted Bob was not the sharpest tool in the tool box (the large, bald, muscular man was currently trying to eat his dinner with a cup), she could only hope his name was a joke.

Shizuru finished her mouthful and daintily patted the corners of her mouth with her napkin. "You get used to it," she explained ducking as a knife flew past her head.

"_Thisisfuckingcrazy_," Natsuki hissed keeping her voice low enough to be drowned out by the ruckus. The pirates ignored the biker; Big Susie and Quick-witted Bob merry on the rum provided with dinner that seemed to be the only drinkable liquid available on the boat (apart from tea) that had started singing vividly explicit sea shanties while Anders was engrossed by his edition of 'A guide to Custom's Duty'.

"Just eat your food it's delicious," Shizuru suggested quietly. "Trevor no knives," she suddenly snapped at the pirate who currently had Pete in a headlock with an arm around his neck and a knife to his exposed throat. The pirate immediately dropped the knife and Pete threw him over his shoulder erupting into a bout of wrestling on the floor.

Natsuki just couldn't understand how the heiress could be so composed, it was so irritating. She was supposed to be courageous, streetwise rogue who lived dangerously on the edge of the law but this was too much for the orphan. They were outnumbered by cut throat pirates; two of them were trying to kill each other and the another two were signing grotesquely detailed songs about murder and pillaging, and she was trying her best not to show how frightened she was (she had her pride) but really she was terrified and her anxiety was increasing with every second.

"How the hell do you expect me to eat under these conditions?! This is madness!" Natsuki snapped her voice rising slightly. Shizuru just wasn't getting it - they were in mortal danger. Panicking she began to sweat and room seemed to be closing in around her until the noise of the shanty was pounding in her ears, interspersed with the sounds of punches and cracking bones, she couldn't breathe or think, she had to get out of this claustrophobic space.

Shizuru sensed rising Natsuki anxiety and leaned closer to try to calm the stubborn biker, "Just be coo…"

_"DON'T YOU FUCKING DARE TELL ME TO BE COOL SHIZURU!"_ she yelled into Shizuru's face jumping to her feet. The heiress shrank in her seat and looked around at the other pirates with a nervous smile while trying to get Natsuki to shut up but Natsuki was too far gone to be aware of Shizuru's discreet "kill the conversation" signal.

"_THEY'RE A BUNCH OF MURDEREROUS CROOKS WHO'D FUCKING KILL THEIR OWN NEGLECTFUL IRRESPOBSIBLE MOTHERS IF IT BROUGHT THEM ANY PROFIT!"_

The room fell into silence. The two struggling pirates paused their fists poised to strike each other, the two signing pirates their arms still around each other stopped mid-verse, Scurvy Sid dropped a utensil in the kitchen galley and Anders slowly closed his book and placed it on the table. Shizuru groaned. All of them turned their heated gaze towards the biker.

* * *

"….and that's why we've decided to let you go," Anders explained to the two newcomers as he walked up and down the deck of the large trawler with his hands behind his back The rest of the crew stood dutifully behind him on the deck facing the two women.

The sky was a beautiful perfect blue and the blue sea calm and almost still was such a contrast to the last time Natsuki had seen it and such a contrast to how she was currently feeling. "We need team players on this ship," Anders continued, "and at the end of the day we all know that you're not happy here, so down the road you'll be glad this happened."

"I understand." Shizuru nodded demurely.

"How the fuck can you be so calm about this?" Natsuki choked again in disbelief.

Shizuru shrugged. "I guess I'm used the cut-throat world of business."

"Cut-throat world…damn it Shizuru it's not a euphemism they're literally going to kill us!" Natsuki shrieked anxiously. Tied back to back with the heiress Natsuki struggled to try and loosen the rope around their wrists without falling off the narrow plank of wood. Was she the only rational person the boat? How can they be so relaxed about making the two women walk the plank? And just because they'd given them a leaving card signed by all the pirates, and Quick-witted Bob was holding a banner that said 'Sorry your leevin" and Scurvy Pete had baked them a sponge 'Good luck' cake, it didn't mean that she felt any better about being thrown into the sea! Again!

"Look I know it's a bit of a bow wave but we're not trying to blamestorm here," Anders continued trying to pacify the obviously agitated biker. "We're moving into a new era for the Merry Widow and that means we're going to have to deselect some employees to balance the accounts and it's a family business," he shrugged. "Miss Shizuru wouldn't like if we just bounced you so she'll have be decruited I'm afraid. Sorry Miss."

"Quite alright Anders. Your loyalty is admiral."

This ship was full of crazy people and Natsuki was tied to the maddest one of all. "Can't you just get rid of someone else?" Natsuki tried wildly. "What about Peg-leg Trev? He's always trying to kill your brother. He's trying to kill him right now!" She argued nodding towards the pirate who had Anxious Pete in another headlock while trying to gouge out one of Anxious Pete's eyes with a spoon from the leaving cake.

Anders turned to the fighting pirates and back to the two bound women with a bemused shake of the head and a chuckle. "Oh Anxious Pete wouldn't like that at all. They're going to make a lovely couple once they stop trying to kill each other."

"But…but they hate each other."

"Hate, love," he held out his two hands, "very similar emotions and people always seem to express their passions in the way they feel most comfortable with; they're pirates so of course it makes perfect sense that they feel most comfortable releasing the sexual tension by trying to kill each other. They'll work it out eventually and it'll be beautiful. So sorry Miss but you're still for the drop."

Natsuki groaned miserably.

"Oh don't be so sad Miss we've given you a proper Pirate send off and we're not even going to slit your throats because Miss Shizuru was a right good Cap'in. You've got everything you had when you came aboard; you're both in the clothes you came aboard in, your door, provisions and your chest will be awaiting you in the sea," he motioned Quick-witted Bob forward with a hand wave and the huge man dropped his banner lifted Shizuru's chest with one hand and effortlessly threw it over the two women's heads and into the sea before wandering off below deck.

Natsuki blushed as she considered Ander's words. "Errrr Shizuru you're wearing the clothes you came aboard in?"

"Yep," Shizuru chirped rather cherrily for someone who was about to walk the plank.

"So nooooo…"

"Nope."

"Oh shit," Natsuki whined feeling the back of Shizuru's body pressed up against her back-to-back. Her gown was so thin she might as well be naked. Resigned to her fate and trying to distract herself from Shizuru's curves she sighed, "Can you at least show us where we are?" she asked the pirate. "I have a map in my top pocket."

Anders took the map from Natsuki's shirt pocket and read. "Freddy the Fish is on his..."

"Just show us where we are," Natsuki snapped irately. She didn't need anyone else making her feel any more stupid as she already felt.

He held the map up to the two women and pointed. "Here next to the starfish playing a ukulele." They two women groaned somehow they had made it right back to where they started.

Bob re-emerged carrying their door, with the bag, tool belt, and life jackets still attached by the rope, and something as yet not visible that made everyone (who didn't have their hands bound) cover their noses in disgust. Even Trev and Pete stopped fighting to hold each other's nose.

Shizuru and Natsuki tried not to vomit as Bob held up the offensive item. "Oh god that was my courier," she dry heaved again at the sight of the bloated, green body of the young man she'd met aboard the Cruise Ship.

"Bob, why the hell did you keep that," Anders complained holding his nose, "where have you been keeping it! Get rid of it!"

"You said keep everyfing dey 'ad, and dis came wiv da chest," Bob explained slowly in his deep voice scratching his head.

_Well that explains the dead body under the chest,_ Shizuru realized.

"He's right I did say that," Anders conceded to the two prisoners before instructing Bob to throw everything overboard including the body. Shizuru watched the body fly over their heads and into the sea while hoping she didn't land on it.

Ander's clapped his hands together. "Right well let's eat the frog and get this over with. Can I suggest this time that you keep your lifejackets on? That was a very silly thing to do. Right, Bob?"

"Mum says clever boys wear armbands on deck and when spalshin'," Bob agreed holding up his arms.

_And that explained the inflatable dingys held around Bob's massive arms with rope,_ Shizuru thought.

"I only took it off because she said I looked stupid," Natsuki accused.

"No I took mine off because you said I looked stupid," Shizuru argued.

"You fucking liar…!" Natsuki gasped outraged by the accusation.

Anders eyes bounced between the two women as they exchanged insults. Even though the blue-haired one had offended his mum he felt no animosity towards the pair, his siblings however were feeling bloodthirsty so he had to get them off the boat as quickly and as traditionally as possible to satisfy the crew. So the least he could do before he pushed them to their possible doom was to help the women realize the blatantly obvious. "So let me see if I'm correct," Anders interrupted. "You both hate each other?"

Their heads snapped towards him "YES!" they yelled at him in unison both sets of narrow eyes burning with something as yet unspecified by the two women.

"Yet you care about what the other thinks about your appearance and you have saved each other's lives on more than one occasion?"

"YEAH! SO?!"

"Never mind," he sighed at the women's stubborn ferocity and reasoned that they'll figure it our eventually in their own time. "Are you ready?"

Natsuki could not believe this was actually dreaming. If her hands had been free she would have pinched herself, or Shizuru. They were probably about to die and she determined it was all Shizuru's fault. She turned her head to the side closer to the heiress "I fucking hate you, so fucking much Shizuru," she growled.

"Believe me Natsuki the feeling is mutual," the heiress sneered turning her head towards the biker until their ears were almost touching. _This was all Natsuki's fault_. "I was doing just fine until you woke up and in _one day_ managed to ruin everything. You just had to mention their mother didn't you. You just couldn't let it go you uptight, uncouth, loudmouthed twit."

"Fuck you, you snobby, repressed, tart-faced, pirate, bitch."

Their obviousness was just becoming irritating and Anders had had enough of the pair. "Thank you for your efforts and good luck for the future," he clapped politely rousing the other pirates to sing 'For they are jolly good fellows' and a round of 'Hip hip-horrays' before stepping forward and with a cheery friendly wink (quite inappropriate for what he was about to do) pushed the pair off the plank and back into the sea.

They

screamed

the

whole

way

down.

* * *

AN/: Guess who was the inspiration for this chapter *giggle* looking at you Captain A.

All the jargon in this chapter is real terrible business jargon and "Facipulated" is actually the act of manipulating people in business to follow your own hidden agenda. It is not something kinky as Natsuki feared.

Of course if you want to read about Shizuru as a devilish fearsome pirate I'd suggest you read ShayP's epic "Siren of the Sea."


End file.
